Our Trustees

Rakesh is a retired GP from Ashington, Northumberland and is married with two children. His son is autistic and became a day pupil at Thornhill Park School at the age of five and has now progressed through to a placement with adult services at New Warlands Farm.

Rakesh has taken on the role of Chair of Trustees in order to help the Society take forward its excellent work with supporting autistic children, young people and adults as well as supporting their families.

Lisa has over 30 years’ experience working in management positions in a wide range of sectors including Travel & Tourism, Recruitment, Welfare to Work and most recently as Director of Business Development at New College Durham.

New College Durham is one of the largest apprenticeship training providers in the country and as Head of Business Development Lisa is responsible for the strategic direction of the apprenticeship and adult education teams, working with some of the regions largest employers in both the public and private sectors on their learning and development strategies.

Away from the busy office Lisa enjoys spending time with family and friends, visiting the countryside and going to the theatre. With a love for musical theatre Lisa has been an active member of Fatfield Musical Stage Society for 40 years both on and off stage!

David graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in mathematics before training as a Chartered Accountant in the audit department of a national accountancy firm in Bristol.

After qualifying he moved back to his native north east where he worked for a local independent accountancy firm before moving to be the Financial Controller of IAM Sold, a Fast Track 100 property auction house.

Following this he worked at Newcastle United Foundation heading up their finance team as Finance Manager, before moving to Home Group’s accounts team. He has extensive experience of working both for and with a wide range of charities and is proud to have the opportunity to use these skills developed to serve as a trustee of NEAS.

Stephen is currently a Police Officer in North Yorkshire, having relocated to the area in 2018, following 10 years in the Metropolitan Police in London. He has worked in a number of different areas including safeguarding, CID and domestic violence.

The move to North Yorkshire was partly influenced by the fact that Stephen’s close family live in Co. Durham. His youngest brother is autistic and is an adult residential service user in Sunderland, in supported living accommodation provided and staffed by NEAS. Stephen has therefore seen first-hand the excellent quality of care and support provided by the Society.

Stephen is an active supporter of NEAS as a fundraiser – most recently he has taken part in The Great North Run, raising money on behalf of the Society and proudly wearing the logo on his vest. He is keen to use the skills he has developed during his career, and the first-hand experience he has gained of autism and neurodiversity when serving as a Trustee.

Steve has worked in the criminal justice system in a variety of roles for 20 years. As a former school governor and member of the Independent Monitoring Board of a large prison, Steve retains an active interest in the social issues affecting the community.